comments:
TL;DR It's overpriced Chinese optics. You're better off just getting the cheap, unbranded Chinese version of the same product. I hate to be a debbie downer, but this ongoing myth of Bausch & Lomb being remotely good loupes is a relic of the past. I strongly suspect it's because older American geology professors give this advice to younger faculty members, who then pass it on to students. The B&L loupes haven't been manufactured in the US for a long time now, and the loupes your professors remember fondly are not the same ones being sold nowadays. What you're holding is a rebranded cheap Chinese loupe that is now sold under many different brands, such as for example this (not very German) "German" Krüss loupe, or this no-name Amazon loupe. It features a smaller lens than the competition, worse chromatic and planatic correction, and has no anti-reflection coating to boot. If that wasn't bad enough, the quality control and fit & finish on these is atrocious, as you can tell by the many scuff marks and scratches on yours. The only legitimate design & manufacturing that B&L still does is daily disposable contact lenses at their Rochester plant, and eye-care pharmaceuticals at their Tampa plant. The rest is a sloppily outsourced cash grab disguised as a heritage brand, unfortunately.